Had a great day spinning wrenches, but suffering for it...

[Dablaze]

Used to spin wrenches a fair bit, but my business has kept me from it for the most part lately. Got to spend the day working with my friend Bruce at Dynotunes in Ontario. This is always a pleasure for me. Due to my type one diabetes however, a full day of wrenching has left me with some god awful cramping in my fingers. Feel like screaming!

And tomorrow I have to go back and finish! Might need some suggestions if anyone else experiences similar.

At least up here in Canada it's a long weekend!

Craig

[T. Cotten]

Craig!

I don't suffer from diabetes, (just stenosing tenosynovitis, Dupuytren's Contracture, arthritis, years of 'carpal tunnel', a little embedded metal, etc...), but I have found that wrapping fingers with tape eases many symptoms.

The packing tape from the Post Office is hypo-allergenic.

....Cotten

[fillibuster]

Used to spin wrenches a fair bit, but my business has kept me from it for the most part lately. Got to spend the day working with my friend Bruce at Dynotunes in Ontario. This is always a pleasure for me. Due to my type one diabetes however, a full day of wrenching has left me with some god awful cramping in my fingers. Feel like screaming!

And tomorrow I have to go back and finish! Might need some suggestions if anyone else experiences similar.

At least up here in Canada it's a long weekend!

Craig

Craig, I feel for ya!
Don't know how old you are (I am 61). I haven't seen anyone declare their age here, wonder if it's a superstitious thing, but it is a factor. Your type one is likely bigger than your age, however we all suffer from limitations that cripple us somewhat.
My mother has some very ugly arthritis, but if I can live to 88 like she has, I may have to accept the same. I'll just sit around and talk big and about how tough we were in my day too!
Aleve does help me relax and sleep, and I have taken it in the mornings when pain is persistent.
And I've had to learn to shovel my oatmeal left-handed, as my right cannot turn far enough to reach the pie-hole. Aleve can't fix that. And yes, that limits the wrenching sometimes too.
Good luck to you.

[exeric]

I had a serious kidney issue 7 years ago and my nephrologist has a big bulletin in his office that says; if you're taking Aleve. . . STOP. I guess it's bad on kidneys, but I couldn't tell you why. I think I would go with Tom's tape suggestion to be on the safe side. I'm 62 by the way

[harleytoprock]

The magic in Aleve is naproxen which is like a wonder drug. I try not to abuse it but at times its the fix I need. It seems like I just turned 18 yesterday but holy crap, that was 43 years ago. I can't do now what I could then. I guess its better to be getting old than being dead.

[ricmoran]

Tai Chi, for your hands: https://www.google.com/search?q=tai+...for+your+hands

Do exercises before spinning wrenches.

[fillibuster]

Tai Chi, for your hands: https://www.google.com/search?q=tai+...for+your+hands

Do exercises before spinning wrenches.

That's a good one, Ric. Our work comp carrier distributed some stretching exercises with statistics that showed the effects of stretching before work. We started this "on the clock", the first five minutes after clocking in. I've also done well to stretch mildly at the end of the day.
Be sure to eat your bananas (says the chiropractor), for the potassium, and the VERY BEST medicine is WATER; stay away from excess of other poisonous liquids.

Is this like a "MANOPAUSE" thread? .... pass the stuffy-pills!

[Dablaze]

Yeah, I am still a young pup, just turned 50 this year. It's def diabetic related for me, but of course cramping isn't limited to diabetics. Good suggestions though, the taping and the water are two I will jump on right away, have to read up on the Tai Chi and pain killers....

Thanks all
Craig

[sirhrmechanic]

Nothing tops off a great day in the shop like a few gills of a cheeky India Pale Ale or a nice Pinot Noir. Wait, did I just say Pinot? Ok, I am off to hand in my man card...

The day I can't enjoy some shop time and a wonderful day turning wrenches is the day I eat a Luger round. But I can say that crawling under old cars is a bit harder than it was a decade ago. And without a doubt, my annual PD quals are a bit more of an ordeal than they used to be. Of course, I am just a few short weeks away from celebrating the 31st anniversary of my 19th birthday.

Cheers,

Sirhr

[Peter Cooke]

I am just a few short weeks away from celebrating the 31st anniversary of my 19th birthday. Cheers, Sirhr

Same for me in October. And today marks 32 years with the Defence Dep't, 28 of those in Naval shipbuilding. I can't believe it's gone so quickly. Time really does fly when your having fun! All those stairs and ladders on the ships have taken there toll on my knees but I can't imagine doing anything else. What I do find helps, and may help those with arthritis, is soaking in salt water at the beach. Obviously it takes the weight off your joints but the salt water seems to work some magic and it always feels much better afterwards.